Legacy of the Blue Flame
by Jiyle
Summary: With her father's fall from grace and grandfather's return, Azula is given in an arranged marriage to the Crown Prince of the Earth Kingdom. Life amongst those she conquered is far from pleasant, with one exception. What she fails to remember is that there is no rest for the wicked, nor for those she loves. Threeshot spanning across three generations. [Not a romance]


**I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I am not profiting from this in anyway whatsoever, save my confidence in my ability as a writer. I do own Shuu and Shun.**

**Azula was supposed to have had an arranged marriage in Book Three. I wish very much they had gone through with it.**

**This spawns from a headcanon of mine and my sister's where Ursa warned Azulon of Ozai's plot, they faked his death, and lived in hiding for years before coming back. Ozai was removed from the line of inheritence.**

**I really, really love Azula.**

* * *

_When tragedy strikes, it is swift and merciless. Much care must be given to kings and queens, for they are the makers of history._

* * *

"No. I _will not _do it. I _refuse _to marry him!"

Father sighed heavily, closing his eyes in a pinched expression. Mother – _Mother who abandoned her. Mother who returned but __still didn't love her_ – frowned, her beautiful features, so similar to Azula's own, crinkling together in pity. Or disappointment. Mother had never been proud of her.

"It is out of our hands," Father said gravely. "Fire Lord Azulon is adamant on a union between Fire and Earth."

White hot rage flared in her veins, and her traitorous hands clenched. Fire Lord Azulon who had abandoned his throne – his _country _for six years. Fire Lord Azulon who had allowed his second son's family to live in fantasy before cruelly tearing it all away from them and setting the remains alight. Fire Lord Azulon who seemed intent on throwing the utmost misery upon her family.

Except Zuzu. For a grandson whom he had wanted dead, he certainly favored him. Probably because of Uncle.

It all came back to Uncle, didn't it? It was Uncle's shame at Ba Sing Se that had spurred Father to ask for the throne. It was Uncle's ideals that convinced the Fire Lord to end the war in the name of "peace." It was Uncle's disappearance that forced Fire Lord Azulon to take one of his grandchildren as his heir. And it was Uncle's mentoring that had Fire Lord Azulon favoring Zuko. Or maybe it was because she was a girl.

"That doesn't explain why _I _have to do it," Azula hissed, just barely keeping the snarl out of her voice. "The Earth King has a niece of his grandfather's line, and Zuko would probably get along with her." He had, after all, gotten along swimmingly with the Avatar's crew. Especially with the waterbender girl, or so rumors claimed.

Her brother startled at his name, and flushed red when he realized what she had said. She sneered.

"Your brother has been betrothed to Mai for years now, Azula," Mother gently admonished. "You should know that – she _is _your friend."

A cold rage bubbled in her chest, and she let loose a snort, adding sardonically. "You're right, Mother. I suppose it's hard to remember that my brother's to marry the girl who betrayed me." Her and Ty Lee both.

Ursa stilled. Clearly, she had forgotten about that. Or perhaps Father had just neglected to tell her. Azula felt a cold satisfaction bloom when Mother looked away.

"That does now change the facts," Father said firmly, steering the conversation back to the original topic. "Fire Lord Azulon has betrothed you to Crown Prince Shuu of the Earth Kingdom."

She scowled, crossing her arms. Inwardly, she cursed herself for not seeing this coming. She had known for as long as she could comprehend it that, for as long as Fire Lord Azulon lived, there was a chance he would offer her in a marriage, no matter how distasteful. It was foolish of her to have forgotten that her grandfather viewed women as bartering pieces to be exchanged for power.

"That is not necessarily a bad thing," Father continued, heedless of her musings. "The Fire Nation can profit greatly from this."

"I am a daughter of Fire. Not a whore of Earth," she muttered, then paused. "I have met Crown Prince Shuu. He is a cowardly imbecile with more brawn than brain, even if they're both pitiable. Any fool would be able to overtake him."

"Exactly, daughter," Father nodded, disregarding Mother's disapproving stare. "With the end of the war, Fire Lord Azulon returned your greatest victory, Ba Sing Se, to the Earth Kingdom. Now, with your marriage, he offers you the chance to take it back."

Both her mother and brother didn't seem to agree, but she didn't care. She sneered at them both and considered her father's words. _I will not waste my time appeasing self-righteous dreamers. Not when I have such an opportunity to serve my country._

"I will not waste this chance, Father."

~oOo~

The Fire Nation was in an uproar. It had been bad enough that their March of Civilization had been forcibly halted – by the Fire Lord who had overseen most of it, no less – but their most celebrated victory in the hundred years of war had been handed back to the barbarians like a wrapped gift. It only added insult to injury that their brilliant warrior princess was to marry one of the incompetent Dirt peoples.

The Fire Lord quickly stifled their protests, but that they had tried at all gave Azula a certain satisfaction.

With protesters rallying in both countries, both Fire Lord Azulon and Earth King Kuei were anxious to see the marriage through before the betrothal collapsed. Withing weeks, Azula was in the Earth King's palace for the second time, but this time as something rarely seen and generally scorned against in the Fire Nation – a child bride.

Her husband-to-be stood next to her, a man not much older than her brother with a smug, haughty air about him. She kept her expression carefully blank, and fisted her hands together under her elaborate silk robes, thankfully in Fire Nation style. One of the Earth King's sages stood before them, presiding over the ceremony in a dull monotone. The Earth King himself watched from his elevated throne, and two empty seats that Azula didn't want to go anywhere near were to his right.

Her family observed from the sides of the room – even Fire Lord Azulon had deigned to come (though more for political reasons that personal ones, Azula guessed). They were all in formal Fire Nation regalia, the types of which rarely felt Agni's blessed warmth. Mother was crying.

_Mother doesn't want me to marry. She must pity them, and doesn't want to let her monster loose on the Earth Kingdom._

She turned her attention back to the ceremony just as the sage instructed them to drink the rich rice wine. _The people of Fire will rule the Earth. _

She drank.

~oOo~

_Year One_

She refused to share a bed with him.

She did not _care _what was expected of newly weds – she refused to consummate her marriage, no matter how much her husband and the palace staff (mostly her own ladies-in-waiting. A couple of tittering idiots) tried to cajole her into it, even going as far as to lock them in their room every night. She (and her fire. What a lovely shade of blue) made it very clear that if he tried to force her into anything, he would never have the children he so craved.

That changed after the wedding anniversary.

It had been a miserable year. The large, suffocating air of the Earth Palace was so utterly different from the closed, sneaky ways of the Fire Court. The power games she had one played so easily now eluded her, too open and obvious to bring her the same hair-raising thrill. The men smirked and laughed, shoving her off with their wives and sisters, relishing in offering such humiliation to the woman who had once conquered them. She had miscalculated. Again.

Everything reminded her of the differences between her early and married lives – the mocking voices of chauvinistic courtiers sending her off to tea; the sickly sweet simpering of their wives going on about how terrible battle must have been to such a frail girl – _as if they could understand how much she had _thrived_ off of the adrenaline pumping through her veins –_ and how _fortunate _it was that she could sit and smile and _watch her fire be smothered. _The food was bland and fatty, as opposed to the energizing spices she had grown up with, and rather than clothing that was light and easy to maneuver in – easy to _fight _in – she donned heavy, cumbersome robes every morning, allowing her face to be pounded with make up and her hair to be pulled into painful styles.

Her husband publicly taunted her at the galas his father was so fond of throwing, calling her a rare flower too delicate and beautiful to be put in harm's way before loudly proclaiming himself her protector. It made her blood boil, but the circumstances – _her_ _miscalculation _– prevented her from acting on it.

Things were no different on the night of their anniversary. Azula went through her usual ritual of clenching her fists and forcing the fires to an uncomfortably warm temperature – it was the closest thing to true bending the constraining court customs allowed her. She kept her posture rigidly stiff, almost militaristic, and kept a cold expression on her face. As always.

The food tasted different – Earth King Kuei had decided to sample some exotic dishes from around the world, and even had some Fire Nation cuisine imported for the occasion. Azula decided the cooks must have botched the preparation somehow and took a sip of the tea – ginseng. Her uncle's favorite. Hmph.

The large helpings of food coupled with the utter boredom had her drowsy by the end of the night, and she gladly retired to her chambers. Her fingers fumbled with her elaborate clothing and hairstyles, and she became increasingly frustrated before giving up and reluctantly calling for her handmaidens. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she was dressed in her long, modest sleeping robe, and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed.

The door opened and her husband strode in, just as arrogant as ever. She turned to him, giving him an evil eye tempered with sleep before turning her back to him.

Sleep came very quickly that night, but she was rolled onto her back before she could truly drift off.

She gave her husband a weak glare through her lashes, sleep calling her mind away. He chuckled.

"You won't be able to run tonight, dear wife."

She hadn't noticed.

~oOo~

She didn't remember what happened the next morning.

She felt ill and tired, and Agni had yet to rise when her eyes snapped open and she rushed to the bathroom. Crown Prince Shuu had a lazy smirk when she re-entered the bedroom, one hand propping his head up and the blanket just barely covering his bare torso. A chill swept through her when she realized her robe was on the floor along with her undergarments.

"You have a marvelous body," he said huskily, dark eyes roving appreciatively downwards. Quickly, she snatched up her discarded robe and wrapped it around herself. She could feel Agni's warmth seep into the early morning, and her face flushed an angry red. "The court will be pleased that we've finally consummated."

_"Die."_

~oOo~

_Year One. Month Five_

It took several months before the staff was able to repair all the damage she had inflicted on the royal apartments, but there was no way to heal the rather debilitating burns she had left on her husband. By then, Azula's stomach had swollen noticeably, and she often spent her days holed up in desolate isolation. No one cared to pull her out of it.

Her family sent letters, reacting to the news. Fire Lord Azulon wrote a formal missive offering empty platitudes, most likely drafted by an adviser. Mother congratulated her, expressing her joy and excitement for her coming grandchild. Father was as formal as the Fire Lord, but there was a hint of concerned query in his words – he knew she wouldn't give _anyone_ her body so willingly. Zuko didn't send anything.

The Earth King threw yet another party in response to the news. The Avatar and his cohorts attended since they were in the area. Apparently, her brother had been given permission to travel with them again – something about being the Avatar's firebending master and being finished with his own training as the Heir Presumptive. It was the first time she had seen him since the wedding.

Zuzu coughed awkwardly, glancing in bemusement at her ensemble. "It's… uh… good to see you, Azula," he offered.

She gave him an empty smile. "Indeed, brother – we haven't seen each other in quite some time. A pity Mother and Father didn't accompany you." Lie. She couldn't have cared less whether or not her mother was there, though she wouldn't have minded if her father was.

His eyes flickered to the side. "You've changed," he commented.

"I'm married now." She said it as if it was all the answer he needed – and it was. Shouldn't he have known how the misery of matrimony had changed her at only fifteen? How their Uncle's actions had locked her in a glass cage – unable to do anything but watch the earth smother her flames? She ran her hands down her midriff with mock pride, and her smile shifted in a poor imitation of happiness. She was no stranger to shamed mothers, and the thing inside her wouldn't be either – she had turned out well enough, hadn't she? "And I am to have a child."

He stared at her, an unfamiliar glint in his eyes. "You've changed," he repeated. Something inside her broke.

~oOo~

_Year One. Month Seven_

Azula was seven months along when she remembered where she had found her uncle during her first time in Ba Sing Se. The smouldering inside her flared into an all-encompassing inferno, and she felt more alive than she had in nearly two years. It didn't take long to make a discrete inquiry, and upon receiving confirmation to her suspicions, she threw herself into her new project.

She and her ladies-in-waiting were to visit the Jasmine Dragon, and she wanted everything to go _perfectly_.

It was a short project – it only took a week to put into motion, but she was happy enough to be able to scheme again that its brevity didn't bother her. A voice in the back of her mind mourned the fact that she had fallen to the point where harassing her uncle brought her such glee. She ignored it.

None of the tea shop's patrons seemed to care much when she and her ladies-in-waiting entered the establishment – they were used to being visited by customers from the highest echelons of society, and it didn't take much to confirm their reservation. Her request to see the manager was quickly honored.

Uncle emerged from the back of the building, beaming as one of his employees led him to their table, and Azula hid behind her menu as Lady Liu giggled and gossiped with Lady Xie.

"How may I help you ladies?" he asked cheerfully.

_Showtime. _She allowed her menu to drop in feigned surprise at his voice, and snapped her head over to face her uncle. She took great enjoyment in watching the smile quickly fade from his face, even while maintaining a vaguely shocked expression on her own.

"_Uncle? _What are you doing here?" she asked. Lady Liu nudged Lady Xie and asked if she knew what was happening. Lady Xie coughed quietly and gave an elegant shrug.

"Running my tea shop. And you, Princess Azula? I thought the Fire Nation had returned Ba Sing Se to the Earth Kingdom," he said sternly, though she noticed how he stared in confusion at her Earth Kingdom appearance.

She plastered a smile too wide to be real onto her face. "I am of the Earth Kingdom now," she informed him. "Fire Lord Azulon arranged my marriage to Crown Prince Shuu, and I joyously took on the role." Her voice sounded fake, even to her own ears, and she gestured at her bulging midsection with a wooden yet graceful movement before beaming into her uncle's face.

"How in the spirits' name did that happen?" he asked in astonishment. "I cannot see my brother willingly giving your hand to anyone, Niece."

"Father did not have a choice." Such a simple phrase with so many layers of meaning. "I must thank you, Uncle. It is because of you that I now have such a wonderful husband." _It is because of you that I'm trapped in this hell._

He eyed her warily. "I do not understand."

She gave a light, fake laugh. "Fire Lord Azulon insisted Zuko tell him about your teachings, and he took them to heart. He believes that unions between Fire and the other elements are necessary to restore balance to the world, and so I am here." She gave a brilliant smile. "I am lucky to be so blessed with my husband. Hopefully, soon I can honor him with a son." The Earth Kingdom believed in child brides, and their nobility had a firm tradition of having young mothers. _It is because of you that I suffer._

Uncle paled, but forced a smile back onto his face. "Blessed, indeed. I wish you happiness, Niece," he said sincerely.

"And you, Uncle. And don't worry," she added, leaning in. "We won't tell Fire Lord Azulon that you're here. Will we, ladies?" It had taken much trickery and manipulation, but she had eventually bent the ladies' wills to her own. The only thing they disagreed about at this point was the misfortune that was her child. She inwardly sneered.

"Oh, no, Princess," Lady Liu said brightly.

"The only thing of interest here is the exquisite tea," Lady Xie agreed.

Azula smiled. "It's your choice if you want to return as Fire Lord Azulon's heir, Uncle – I would never take that away from you. Of course, if you don't wish to, you can always stay in Ba Sing Se. I would appreciate your presence." _You either return to the throne you're running from or you can watch me suffer in the mess you created. Who will it be, Uncle? Whose unhappiness would you prefer? Yours or mine?_

She had always known he was a coward.

~oOo~

_Year One. Month Nine_

It was a boy.

The Earth King was thrilled at the news of a male child, and came to call in her personal sitting room to praise and congratulate her. He seemed to have completely forgotten how she had taken over his city a mere two years ago.

Her husband named the boy Shun, after himself. Just to spite him, Azula called him Ozai in honor of her father.

He had often described to her the glint most firebenders had when they were born – how her brother had been born without it and had nearly been cast from the palace, and how hers had been so bright her eyes nearly glowed. The second she looked into the child's eyes, she knew he would be a powerful firebender.

But of course he would. Her parents' marriage had been prophecized to bring generations of untold power to their family.

The nanny the Earth King had acquired was dismissed in short order, and the nursemaid was only kept for feeding purposes and when Azula was too busy or otherwise unable to care for the child herself. Her previous oath to not have anything to do with her child hadn't taken into account the possibility of him being a firebender. She was the only firebender anywhere near the Earth Court, and she could already sense her son's potential. She didn't want it to be wasted by whatever malleable fool the Earth King might hire.

She didn't tell the court about his bending – as far as they were concerned, he was a nonbender, just as his ancestors had been for five generations – so they didn't see her reasoning behind dismissing the nanny. They were divided on deciding whether they should sneer at her for doing away with traditions or celebrate her for being such a "caring mother."

She suspected they would end up sneering. She didn't care.

Her son was born with pitch black hair and startling golden eyes, and took after her in appearance. She could feel the untrained chi thrumming beneath his skin when she held him, and she soon became obsessed with him. Once again, she took to isolation, paying little attention to anyone other than her son and his nursemaid, who handled the messier parts of caring for an infant and was always shadowing behind them.

In him, she saw new hope, and she was determined not to let the Earth smother her son's Fire as it nearly had hers.

Rumors from her faraway home told her Zuko claimed Fire was Life. Well, if her brother was right, there was life in everything. Fire smouldered and waited in the deepest recesses of Earth, and one day, it would ignite.

~oOo~

_Year Two_

Fire Lord Azulon was dead. Multiple authorities agreed that he had died of old age in his sleep. Zuko was to be coronated within the fortnight.

How she wished she had been there to watch as the light left his eyes.

The court didn't care much – though they gossiped about how odd it would be that the next Fire Lord would be a man who had once served them tea. The Earth King sent a gift of a beautiful vase for the sake of propriety accompanied by a series of politically correct notes of mourning.

She sent her brother a rare flower. Fragile and beautiful, its pungent smell meant it was usually in displays surrounded by dozens of other flowers that were more pleasant to the senses. According to the court, it meant "I love you despite your faults." She personally thought it was a good representation of her family and almost every member in it (barring her son and father, of course) – aesthetically pleasing, yet so utterly unbearably disgusting once you got too close.

Her son drooled on the card she placed inside of it, but she didn't bother replacing it.

~oOo~

_Year Three. Month Three_

Zuko and Mai had gotten married nearly a year ago, a mere six months after his coronation. Unlike her, they had wasted no time in fulfilling their duties. A child had been born – a girl they named Ursa. Azula found a strange sort of humor in the knowledge that both her and Zuko's children were called after their grandparents.

Her son was now eighteen months old, and had taken to toddling around and babbling in his very limited vocabulary. Each night, she spent an hour sitting with him in an empty room, holding a flame in front of him and urging him to _breathe._

Fire delighted him, and it became his favorite toy. There was no hiding his bending abilities when he started playing with the candles during one of the few occasions her husband bothered to dine with them. He threatened to take him away from her, and she threatened to burn the Earth Palace down around his ears. It didn't matter, really. Without a skilled enough teacher, their son would have eventually done it on his own.

Mother had stopped writing after she realized Azula only sent back short, uninterested responses, and Zuko was now too busy to send letters (not that he ever had to begin with). She hadn't spoken to Mai since the incident at the Boiling Rock. (How strange that it seemed to have been so long ago.) Father was the only one who wrote her now, though she certainly didn't mind.

Ozai was a bright child, and he learned the necessities of life very quickly. It wasn't very long until the nursemaid's only purpose was to watch him and help him dress in the mornings. He watched the world around him with sharp, inquiring eyes, and Azula thought it was only his sweet demeanor and naïveté that marked him as different from herself at that age.

She didn't care much to change that. She thought it better to wait before teaching him the intricacies of maneuvering in a courtly life. She heaped her attention on the boy, offering him all the care and devotion she thought he needed – _all the care and devotion her own mother never gave her _– because, after all, he would one day conquer Earth in the name of Fire.

Until that day, she would mould him carefully. Good things came to those who waited, and she was more than happy to bide her time.

~oOo~

_Year Five. Month Nine_

In the months leading up to their son's fourth birthday, Shuu began insisting that he begin his formal education as a prince. Azula agreed, but only on the condition that she be given control over what he learned. Shuu hired two well accredited tutors who often circulated the Earth Court – one to teach him everything a young prince should, such as protocols and politics (or as much of politics as a four-year-old could comprehend), and another to teach him the more standard disciplines, such as mathematics and geography.

Azula made sure they taught him the subjects they were hired to, and_ nothing _else, as well as making sure he had enough time for her own personal teachings, which she gradually increased the intensity of.

Each evening, he recited his lesson to her, bright eyed and excited as he recalled his everything in his memories of that particular day of learning. He absorbed everything his mother and tutors taught him, and his mind held onto the information like a platypus bear trap.

Azula learned that the biggest news of her brother's heir was that the young princess had upended her dinner plate in the midst of a tantrum. She _smiled_.

~oOo~

_Year Eight. Month Nine_

As it turned out, a spoiled brat wasn't all that Zuko's child turned out to be. Azula felt a rush of white-hot rage when her father sent word that, like her, the ridiculous child could bend blue fire. That it was at the age of five when she herself had been nearly six years older only added more resentment.

_"At the very least," _Father had written. _"Zuko isn't so keen on spoiling the girl as he had been. Her training has taken on a focus of careful control, and he is sterner with her than before, if only to keep her from turning the palace into a maelstrom of fire. However, she remains hyperactive and mischievous. I pray this will end."_

She very much hoped it would, one way or another.

Ozai was progressing well. His firebending improved at a rate that left her grinning, and he absorbed and analyzed information so quickly even her foolish husband commented on his potential to become a skillful courtier.

He was still a very nice boy, though how he retained that part of his personality was beyond her, but she did her best to disillusion him to the ways of the world while he still had a clean reputation. He was properly respectful of his father and grandfather because, as much as Azula disliked the notion, it would only be a thorn in her side if her son didn't address his elder male family members in a way befitting the heir. What surprised her was how quick he was to defend _her own _name.

The snide whispers and comments that had followed her since her marriage slowly disappeared when the haughty lords realized that their normally courteous future king would turn into a cold, acerbic sea vulture intent on tearing them down when they spoke ill of her.

She was quite openly proud, and perhaps a bit moved as well.

Lady Liu told her that the Jasmine Dragon was now under a new manager, and that the previous one (her _uncle_, she had giggled) had left the city with the intention of expanding his tea shop past Ba Sing Se's walls. Good riddance.

At the end of the day, she thought her plan was coming together quite nicely.

~oOo~

_Year Sixteen. Month Eleven_

"Praised be this son of Agni. Let the fires of his spirit never dwindle and allow him a joyful eternity in the Spirit World amongst his ancestors." Azula solemnly doused the incense and bowed before her father's portrait, which she had only received after a long argument with her husband and a letter to her brother.

The Earth Court had received word of her father's passing only a month after the fact, a delay that had thoroughly infuriated her. Several weeks had passed since then, and by then, her brother had sent another ambassador in place of the one she had nearly killed. Her ladies-in-waiting still cowered whenever they saw her, and she had been left alone by most of the court. Doubtless there were all sorts of rumors and gossip flying through their heads and flittering from mouth to mouth.

She couldn't bring herself to care. She had refused to be dressed in anything other than white, and a constant, aching hole had come with the knowledge that her father, one of the two people in the world who cared for her and her ambitions, had passed.

Her lips thinned and fists clenched while she considered the deep emptiness that sat in her, just as brutal as any wound she had ever felt and as heavy as the slabs of earth that moved around her husband's people. Suddenly, life in the Earth Kingdom seemed worse than it ever had been, and she felt the urge to flee. To where, her mind didn't supply. Surely not anywhere else in this wretched kingdom, but her own pride would never let her run to her brother's country, and certainly not to the strange fifth nation he'd made of the colonies. The Water Tribes weren't an option to begin with, which left only those random islands in the middle of_ nowhere _that weren't affiliated with any of the nations, and she certainly wouldn't go _there _–

Stop. _Breathe. _She wasn't going to run away. She _couldn't _run away. Who knew what Shuu would do to her sun?

But what she needed was a break. A breath of fresh air. She would take a walk.

Azula knelt at her writing desk and picked up a brush, closing her eyes in a moment of forced relaxation.

_"Ozai, I have decided to go on a walk around the city. Expect me back by dinner. Mother."_

~oOo~

Prince Shun of the Earth Kingdom, second in line to the Jade Throne, otherwise known as "Ozai," ran through the streets of the city, mind bleak as he ripped open door after door, demanding the presence of his mother.

It took him hours to find her in a back alley in the Middle Ring. Dark crimson covered her from head to toe, and her dull gaze was pointed straight ahead. The seal of the Crown Prince, of his father and her husband, was stamped onto her forehead in the same burgundy shade, and countless slashes and stabmarks decorated the week-old carcass.

His hands started shaking and he screamed his denial. His mother was stiff and unmoving, and he was caught in a horrible conflict as he simultaneously wanted to hold her tight and support her gently, for fear of breaking what was left of the strong woman who had raised him.

Ba Sing Se's citizens were greeted by a very strange sight at twilight as their mourning prince returned to the palace with his mother's body in his arms.

* * *

_For what is history, if not wrought with disaster?_


End file.
